It’s not uncommon for successful films to be immediately followed by countless sequels, prequels, and television series. However, the “Godzilla” brand is unique among other franchises, which may impact the audience’s expectations for a follow-up to “Godzilla Minus One.” The character first appeared in 1954’s “Godzilla,” created and produced by Toho, who has been involved in all the character’s incarnations since.
However, Toho has also distributed the rights to “Godzilla” to many American studios, with the character most recently given to Legendary Entertainment to begin their own “MonsterVerse,” fusing the worlds of Godzilla and King Kong. Some of these plans also coincided with Toho’s decision in 2004 to put the franchise to rest following the release of “Godzilla: Final Wars,” going as far as dismantling the giant water tank they’d used to film numerous kaiju films over the years.
Seeing as 12 years passed until Toho produced another “Godzilla” film with “Shin Godzilla,” it seems the company has no desire at this point to crank out “Godzilla” projects on a regular or yearly basis, despite previous commitments. This sentiment was echoed by Minami Ichikawa, a producer on “Godzilla Minus One,” who told GQ Japan, “I personally don’t think there’s any need to rush things too much … After all, Godzilla is a character that is worth that much.”
